New officers see jobs as 'dream,' 'awesome'

STOCKTON - Education. Training. The gut desire to serve the community. A lot goes into molding a police officer, but it all starts with a dream.

Joe Goldeen

STOCKTON - Education. Training. The gut desire to serve the community. A lot goes into molding a police officer, but it all starts with a dream.

Stockton's newest police officers, Blake Epperson and Eric Jackman, each saw their long-term dreams realized Monday when they were formally welcomed and sworn in by Deputy Police Chief Rick Salsedo.

"I've been working hard and long for this. It's a dream come true," Epperson said at the conclusion of a brief ceremony downtown at Stockton Police headquarters witnessed by family, friends and fellow officers.

Jackman said he felt "awesome. I've been wanting to get into law enforcement for the past five years. It's a pretty difficult job market."

With the addition of Epperson and Jackman, along with nine new officers who were sworn in Saturday at San Joaquin Delta College, the department now has 346 sworn officers. It is aiming for 363.

"It is just a matter of getting (new hires) on board as far as the numbers go," said Salsedo, who indicated the department may have finally turned the corner on the high attrition rate of officers retiring or moving to other agencies.

"We are past that," Salsedo said.

Epperson and Jackman will report to Capt. Scott Meadors in the Field Operations Division.

Epperson graduated Saturday from the Basic Peace Officer Academy at Delta College, earning his class's top academic award. A 2007 graduate of Linden High School, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from California State University, Stanislaus. In 2011, he was a member of the Police Department's Senior Cadet program.

Jackman graduated from the South Bay Regional Police Academy at Evergreen College in San Jose in August 2012. A Bay Area native, he previously worked as a dispatcher and security officer for Oracle Security.